Casket construction.



1 I G. I. WETMOREL GASKET GONSTEUCTION.

APPLIUATION FILED 11110. 21, 1909.

983,963. Patented Feb. 14, 1911.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CLAYTON F. WETMORE, OF'JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO NATIONAL CASKET 00., OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

CASKET CONSTRUCTION.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 14, 1911.

Application filed December 21, 1909. Serial No. 534,279.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLAYroN F. WET- MORE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Jersey City, in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Casket Construction, of which the following 13 a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to casket construction. One of the objects thereof is to provide a simple and compact casket top construction, possessing certain desirable features under various conditions of use.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth, and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawings wherein is illustrated one of various possible embodiments of this invention, Figure 1, is a plan view of a casket top with the parts in normal closed position. Fig. 2, is a similar view with the head panel in open position. Fig. 3, is an end elevation disclosing *theparts in closed position, and, Fig. 4, is an end elevation with the head panel raised.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the specification and drawing.

In order that certain features of this invention may be more readily and fully understood, it may here be noted that in burial casket construction, it is aimed to secure a balanced or symmetrical appearance of the casket in closed condition. It is further considered desirable in this art that, with the head panel of the casket opened, an excess of ornament at this end be displayed and all bare surfaces be avoided. The attainment of this ornamental effect of the casket opening without a loss of the balanced appearance of the closed casket and without sacrifice of compactness or symmetry of construction is among the dominant aims of this invention.

Referring to the drawings, 1 denotes the I frame of a casket top which supports head and foot panels 2 and 3 respectively, and nameplate panel 4. The head and foot I panels are formed to fit snugly against the 1 sides of the name-plate panel which is ar- 1 ranged substantially centrally of the frame, so that when these various parts are as sembled they will produce a balanced ornamental effect. The name-plate panel 4L may have its upper surface embellished by any preferred ornamental design and upon the side thereof adjacent the head panel is further provided with ornamentation in relief as shown at 5 in Fig. 2 of the drawing. The frame 1 is provided with an opening 6 which, when the head panel is removed gives a View of the interior of the casket. Panel 2 is provided at its inner end with a recess adapted to receive the projecting ornamentation 5 when the said panel is in position, closing the opening 6, whereby the said ornamentation is protected. and concealed from view. The panel 2 may be attached to the frame by means of any suitable hinge construction as at 8, or be held in place by means of dowel-pins or in any other way that preference dictates. A latch 9 may be provided to secure the parts in assembled relation.

It will be seen from the foregoing that this invention as disclosed in the present embodiment thereof is well adapted to attain the objects and to possess the advantages hereinbefore set forth in a simple and effective manner.

It is to be noted that the word balanced is used to define the effect or appearance produced by the symmetrical and compact arrangement of the various parts, in relation to each other and to the construction as a whole.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the lan guage used in the following claims is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention, which, as a mater of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

Having described my invention, What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a casket top, in combination, a frame provided With an opening at the head end thereof, a name-plate panel, having an ornamental projecting portion upon the side thereof adjacent said opening, and a head panel constructed to close said opening and conceal said ornamentation,

2. In a casket top, in combination, a frame provided With an opening at the head end thereof, a foot panel, a name-plate panel having an ornamental projecting portion upon the side thereof adjacent said opening, a removable head panel and a recess in the latter adapted to receive therein and conceal said ornamental portion When said head panel is in normal position covering said opening.

In testimony whereof I my signature, in the presence of tWo Witnesses.

CLAYTON F. WETMORE.

Witnesses HERBERT L. STEIN, VVILLIAM M. BUGKLEY. 

